Question 1

"My parents and even grandparents believe that Freud was a quack! Don't believe anything he says!" This is a logical fallacy known as

Accepted Answer

The answer of "My parents and even grandparents believe that...

Question 2

"The contents of the Bible must be true because it's been around for thousands of years." This is an example of the __________ fallacy.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the argument from antiquity fallacy, which assumes that something must be true simply because it has been believed or passed down for a long time. However, the age of a belief does not guarantee its accuracy or truthfulness.

Question 3

Many people believe that there are more accidents during a full moon, but there is no evidence of such a correlation. It is likely that people tend to notice when full moons and accidents go together, but don't notice all the times that accidents occur during other times of the month. What does this illustrate?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Many people believe that there are more...

Question 4

Carmen is thinking about her best friend, Simone, who lives in France, and is wondering when she will get to talk to her again, when the phone suddenly rings and it is a call from Simone! Carmen says that Simone must have ESP. Carmen's belief is an example of

Accepted Answer

Carmen's belief that Simone has ESP is an example of patternicity, which refers to the tendency to perceive meaningful patterns or connections in random or meaningless data. This is a common cognitive bias that can lead people to believe in supernatural or paranormal phenomena.

Question 5

Scientific investigation has identified that "The Hot Hand" in basketball is

Accepted Answer

Scientific investigation has shown that "The Hot Hand" in basketball is a myth. Despite popular belief, there is no evidence that players have a higher chance of making a shot after a successful shot. The probability of making a shot remains constant and is not influenced by previous shots.

Question 6

Confusing the origin of a belief with its correctness is a fallacy based on

Accepted Answer

This is known as the genetic fallacy, which occurs when a claim is accepted as true or false based on its origin rather than its current meaning or context.

Question 7

Some people doubt the validity of Freud's theory, citing the fact that he was a cocaine user. This highlights which fallacy?

Accepted Answer

This highlights the genetic fallacy, which involves rejecting an argument based solely on its origins or source. In this case, doubting Freud's theory based on his personal behavior (cocaine use) is irrelevant to the validity of his theory.

Question 8

Derek learned that humans have a genetic predisposition toward preferring sweet or salty foods over sour or bitter foods. Derek decided that his chocolate cravings must be adaptive, so he eats even more chocolate than usual. Which fallacy does this illustrate?

Accepted Answer

This illustrates the naturalistic fallacy, which assumes that because something is natural or adaptive, it is therefore good or desirable. Derek's assumption that his chocolate cravings must be adaptive and therefore justifies eating even more chocolate is an example of this fallacy.

Question 9

Traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions are called

Accepted Answer

Traps in thinking that can lead to mistaken conclusions are called logical fallacies. Systematic information biases refer to systematic errors in gathering or processing information, experiential thought patterns are patterns of thought developed through individual experiences, and confirmation biases refer to the tendency to seek information that confirms preexisting beliefs.

Question 10

Which of the following helps to explain why we are prone to seeing faces or animals when we stare at the stars or the clouds?

Accepted Answer

Patternicity refers to the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns, even when none exist, and this can manifest as seeing faces or animals in random natural formations such as stars or clouds. The other options do not directly relate to this phenomenon.

Question 11

Framing questions so they can be answered in only one of two extreme ways highlights the __________ fallacy.

Accepted Answer

This is the either-or fallacy or false dilemma fallacy, where only two extreme options are presented, ignoring the possibility of other alternatives. It forces a person to choose between two options when there may be a more nuanced or middle ground solution.

Question 12

__________ refers to the tendency to perceive relationships or similarities between meaningless data/events/objects.

Accepted Answer

Patternicity refers to the tendency to perceive patterns or relationships in meaningless data, events or objects. It is a result of the brain's natural inclination to make sense of the world around us and create order from chaos. It can lead to both accurate perceptions of patterns and false ones, but can be a helpful cognitive shortcut in some situations.

Question 13

Gina argues that there can't be any psychological differences between men and women, because that would lead sexist people to feel justified. Which fallacy does this represent?

Accepted Answer

This argument represents the fallacy of argument from adverse consequences, which assumes that a particular claim is false because of the negative consequences of accepting it. In this case, Gina argues that acknowledging potential psychological differences between men and women would lead sexist people to feel justified in their prejudiced beliefs and actions. However, this does not necessarily mean that there are no such differences, and using adverse consequences as a basis for argumentation is fallacious.

Question 14

Will and Kristyn are laying on a hill looking up at the stars. Kristyn looks over and sees the face of a man appearing on the moon. She fails to consider that this 'face' is really a combination of craters on the moon's surface and her own perceptual abilities creating meaning. She has fallen victim to

Accepted Answer

Patternicity refers to the human tendency to see patterns, even when they may not actually exist. In this case, Kristyn is seeing a face on the moon where there is really just a random arrangement of craters.

Question 15

Assuming that something is so simply because a teacher or religious figure said it is so, is an example of

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the appeal to authority fallacy, in which an argument is considered true simply because an authority figure said it is so. Just because someone is a teacher or religious figure doesn't necessarily make their statements automatically true or correct.

Question 16

Our tendency to perceive meaningful connections among unrelated phenomena is called

Accepted Answer

Patternicity refers to the human tendency to perceive patterns or connections among unrelated phenomena. This can lead to seeing nonexistent relationships or attributing meaning to random events. Active and passive constructivism refer to theories about how we construct knowledge, while correlation refers to a statistical measure of the relationship between two variables.

Question 17

"Depression and anxiety happen for a reason. They are there to teach us lessons, and we should just let those disorders run their course. Medications just mask the problem." This example highlights the __________ fallacy.

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the naturalistic fallacy, which assumes that what is natural is always good or right, and that artificial or man-made interventions are inherently bad or harmful. This overlooks the fact that depression and anxiety can be caused by a variety of factors, including environmental stressors or chemical imbalances in the brain, and that medications can be an effective treatment option for many individuals. It also implies that people should simply endure their symptoms, rather than seeking help or support.

Question 18

Terror management theory says we are more likely to believe extraordinary claims when we are reminded of our own

Accepted Answer

Terror management theory posits that reminders of our own mortality can cause anxiety and a heightened need for self-esteem, which can lead to a greater willingness to accept extraordinary claims that provide a sense of security or meaning.

Question 19

You are asked by a friend to tell him whether a colour is either black or white. When you look at it, you think it is neither of these two extremes but is more a shade of grey. Your friend's question is analogous to the __________ fallacy.

Accepted Answer

The friend's question is posing an either-or scenario, where the only options are black or white, and ignores the possibility of shades of grey. This is a classic example of the either-or fallacy.

Question 20

According to the tenets of terror management theory, why does mortality salience lead people to develop paranormal beliefs?

Accepted Answer

According to terror management theory, when people are reminded of their own mortality, they become more likely to seek out beliefs that provide comfort or meaning beyond the physical world. Paranormal beliefs often involve the existence of an afterlife or spiritual realm, which can provide a sense of continuity and transcendence that assuages the fear of death. Therefore, mortality salience leads people to develop paranormal beliefs because it encourages thinking about dimensions of life beyond our own.

Quiz 1: Psychology and Scientific Thinking